This invention relates to the field of fast cooking pasta and other similar types of foods, particularly in small quantities such as individual servings which may be dispensed from vending machines or served in fast food restaurants, company cafeterias, offices and in the home on those occasions when quickly prepared individual servings of food are desired by one or more family members or guests.
Most of the prior art devices in this field have not been able to cook pasta and similar foods in the very rapid time span of a minute or less, which is a desirable objective for use in vending machines and fast food restaurants. Some prior art machines which do claim to be able to cook pasta within about a minute or less require the use of two or more cooking chambers and a complex as well as expensive system of conduits and food transfer valves. The prior art machines do not have controls and equipment to precisely monitor and maintain both pressure and temperature in the cooking chambers at the same constant levels throughout each phase of the entire cooking cycle. That is a desirable objective to insure completely thorough cooking of the food and to do so continuously for batch after batch regardless of changes in ambient temperature and regardless of changes in the equipment itself due to absorption of heat resulting in expansion or contraction, changes in temperature of water pumped into the system and the like. The present invention overcomes such problems, needing only a single cooking chamber in which to perform all of the phases of the cooking cycle and providing controls and equipment to maintain the same constant temperature and pressure as pre-selected throughout the entire time span of each separate phase of the cooking cycle.
Examples of prior art machines for cooking foods such as pasta include those disclosed in the following United States patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,632 discloses a machine which performs a three phase cooking process and utilizes a plurality of cooking chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,160 discloses a machine for fast cooking of pasta and the like which also utilizes a plurality of cooking chambers, in this case two, and a food transfer system comprising a conduit and valve through which the pasta must be moved in order to complete the second phase of the cooking cycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,916 discloses a machine for rapidly cooking batches of spaghetti, which also utilizes two cooking chambers and requires a food transfer system comprising a valve and conduit through which the food has to be moved from the first cooking chamber to the second.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,632 discloses an apparatus for automatically cooking pasta comprising a basket to hold the pasta inside a housing which receives heated water, two heat exchangers and a recirculating system to conserve and re-utilize heat from previously used water to cook a previous batch of pasta.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,917 discloses an apparatus to automatically cook pasta and deposit it on a serving plate, comprising a basket to hold the serving of pasta to be cooked, a cooking vessel to receive boiling water which can be moved upwardly to receive the basket of pasta therein for cooking, and apparatus to thereafter move the basket of cooked pasta into position over the serving plate whereupon it opens to deposit the pasta on the plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,261 discloses a cooking apparatus for simultaneously cooking several separate quantities of pasta, including a plurality of perforated baskets to hold each quantity of pasta, and a chamber of steam and hot water in which the baskets of pasta are suspended for cooking.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,514 discloses a cooking device for cooking individual servings of food, comprising a plurality of perforated pots to hold individual servings of pasta or the like, into which boiling water is pumped from a reservoir to cook the pasta, after which the pots are lifted to let the water drain through the perforations and the individual servings can then be removed for eating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,482 discloses an automatic high-pressure flash cooker to cook beans or grains under high pressure steam, comprising a steaming chamber in which the food product is exposed to steam, and conduits to introduce the steam therein as well as to later drain the water and steam therefrom, after which the flash-cooked beans or grains are removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,045 discloses an automatic cooking and vending machine for boiled noodles, comprising a refrigeration chamber to hold containers of pre-cooked or boiled noodles, a cooking chamber to heat the noodles and eventually add a broth thereto for flavoring, then dispensing the broth flavored noodles in the containers for eating.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,391 discloses an apparatus for steam pressure cooking of food, comprising a steam pressure cooker, an open top container therein to hold the food to be cooked, a steam distributing pipe having apertures for release of steam positioned below the open top containers, and steam from an external source is pumped into and through the steam distributing pipe from which steam exits through the apertures and through the food in the open top container positioned above the steam distributing pipe.